Study: For millennials, libraries are lit

Millennials really like libraries — more than other generations, according to a study by the Pew Research Center.

"It's like a comfort zone," says Danny Zuleta, a White Plains member of that generation who says he goes to the library three or four times a week. "It puts you in that mentality mode."

According to the Pew report, 53 percent of millennials between 18 and 35 years old used a public library within 12 months of the survey in 2016. That compares to 45 percent of Generation X and 43 percent of baby boomers.

"This is data that we've actually been tracking for several years," says Brian Kenny, the director of White Plains Public Library. "Millennials, more than any other generation, do like to share. They don't feel like they need to own everything."

He also credits libraries for evolving, changing their appearance, adding more computers and including cafes. And he says he believes millennials who have kids see the benefit of public libraries.

The White Plains Public Library saw 700,000 visitors last year and is on pace to surpass that number this year.

But just this past weekend, an opinion piece in Forbes argued that Amazon bookstores should replace local public libraries to save taxpayer dollars.